Little By Little
by existence555
Summary: Kissing Hyuga Neji once is an accomplishment. Kissing Hyuga Neji fifty times is on a completely different level. Explore fifty different NejiTen incidents, all, you guessed it, involving kisses.
1. First Kiss

**A/N: I really get in the mood for starting stories around exam time... It's probably not the best practice but this story came from it, heh. Review! :)**

"I have an announcement!" Gai declared, shooting to his feet.

Lee's eyes immediately snapped to his sensei. Tenten fought the effort to sigh and turned to the green spandex clad man. Neji didn't bother to look up.

"Our dear Neji has been recruited by ANBU!" Gai exclaimed. "This week will be his last with us. Neji, congratulations on this youthful achievement!"

"Hn," Neji muttered. "I could've told them myself."

Gai shook his head, trying to look as if he had the wisdom of the world.

"Young Neji, when a teacher feels this proud of his student, he must announce it himself!" he protested.

Neji remained impassive as Gai smiled brightly. He looked over at Lee, which was a bad decision, seeing as Lee's grin was just as blinding.

"This is good for you, Neji!" Lee told him. "I'm just so glad, Gai-sensei!"

Neji turned to glance at the only female member of his team. Tenten met his gaze and shrugged.

"Nice job, Hyuga," she remarked. "I knew you had it in you."

His eyebrows furrowed at her comment. Tenten wasn't quite like Gai and Lee but he had expected a more boisterous statement. Neji watched as she left the training grounds; Lee and Gai were too busy hugging and reminiscing to notice. Since their attention was elsewhere, Neji decided to follow her.

A few seconds later, a kunai zinged past his shoulder.

"Nobody said you could come with me!" Tenten called.

"Nobody said I couldn't," Neji retorted, slightly miffed that she was reprimanding him.

The brown haired girl turned around and glared at him.

"Why are you on my trail anyway?" she asked. "I already congratulated you."

In a few quick steps, Neji caught up with her.

"Something seemed off," he pointed out. "When you're happy, your eyes seem happy too, but when you talked to me, that twinkle wasn't present."

"Nothing gets by you," Tenten said sarcastically.

Neji heard the bitter undertone in her voice.

"Are you angry that I was chosen for ANBU?" he asked, unusually curious. "Or are you jealous? You're a fine kunoi–"

"I'm not _jealous_," Tenten snorted, shaking her head. "Please, Hyuga. Jealous of _you_? I think not."

Neji didn't want to admit it, since he was generally excellent at reading people. This time, he was stumped. He had no idea what was going through her head, even though she was one of the people he spent the most time with, someone he could even consider a best friend. If she wasn't jealous, there had to be something else, and only one thing came to his mind.

"Worried, then?" he guessed. "Are you worried?"

Tenten didn't answe and Neji knew he'd hit the nail on the head.

"You should know by now that I am, by no means, weak," Neji told her. "I would consider myself a rather strong fighter, in fact."

"Of course," Tenten replied. "I know all that, Neji. I'm not stupid. Now please, just leave me alone."

"I never called you any of those things," Neji retorted impassively. "Tenten, this would go more smoothly if you would tell me what exactly it is that's upsetting you."

She sighed and looked up at the sky.

"I'm stuck on a team with Lee and Gai without anybody sane now," Tenten pointed out. "How would that _not_ be upsetting?"

"That was a nice excuse," Neji chuckled. "But I know you well, Tenten, and you have feelings of love for them under that act."

Tenten laughed.

"The way you put it is just so logical, Neji," she giggled. "Have you ever tried thinking from your heart and not your swollen head?"

"My head is of perfectly normal size," Neji protested. "And it's not possible to think from your heart, really."

She shook her head in amusement. Before saying anything else, she undid the buns that rested on top of her head.

"Fine, if you're going to think from your head, I'll have to get you to guess in some other way," Tenten shrugged. "So, humor me, Neji."

He gave her a slight nod, letting her know that she could go on.

"Being a Hyuga, you've studied people's emotions extensively," Tenten continued. "And tell me, Neji, what have you learned of how people act when they're in love?"

"Using the object of their affections, it is easy to manipulate them," Neji responded immediately. "They will often display worry for their lover, as well as sadness, if they are not together. Couples enjoy being together and touching is something that they also do often, in various manners."

He stopped, unable to think of anything else.

"Wonderful," she told him. "Perfect book definition of love. Now, you told me it wasn't possible to think from your heart? Total crap. Of course it is. My definition of love is training until midnight just to spend time together, letting my hair down in an effort to appear attractive in any way, trying to talk even if I know nothing will ever come out of it, dreaming about kissing those _perfect_ lips… That's what love is to me, Neji."

He looked at her, his expression letting her know that he had finally put the pieces together.

"You're in love with Lee!" Neji realized.

Tenten wanted to smack him.

"I realize that leaving the team may put you in an awkward position," Neji went on, ignoring the sinking feeling in his stomach. "And that's okay. Lee's feelings will grow for you, as yours have grown for him."

She shook her head violently and got up.

"It's you, Neji," she said softly. "I love _you_. You're just too damn _thick_ to notice it. Thinking I'm in love with Lee… For all that talk of being a genius, you're really just an idiot. Good luck with ANBU."

With that, she walked away from the man she loved.

Neji sat there for a while longer, perplexed. He watched her go, as he didn't know what he'd say to her even if he did know where she was going. The first thing he thought of was the last book he had read on love. There was a mission he had to go on, involving the kidnapping of a man's wife. Neji had read the book to better understand the emotions he was going through.

The man had asked questions constantly and the tension surrounding him was nearly palpable. Neji remembered not ever wanting to feel like that but oh, he'd had that experience as well.

While he was on a solo mission, Lee and Gai had gone on a long training exercise. That left Tenten in Konoha and Tsunade assigned her a solo mission as well, not realizing that it was more of an A-Rank than a B-Rank. Tenten was missing for a month and when she did make it home, she was in bad shape.

He had convinced himself that it was worry over an excellent shinobi that had made him feel useless when he went to visit her in the hospital. He hadn't quite realized that it was worry over an excellent _woman_ that made him feel useless.

After Tenten had recovered, Neji spent even more time training. Now that he'd felt that way, he wanted to make sure he'd never feel like that _again_.

These thoughts swirling in his 'swollen head', Neji slowly walked home, deciding to talk with Tenten again the next morning.

He showed up at the training grounds early, as he knew that she was there early most days.

"Here to say something logical?" Tenten asked, without turning around.

Neji kept his distance. Despite all the missions he'd been on, he was only afraid of a few things. One of those things was Tenten's temper.

"Put down the weapons," he suggested. "I just came to continue our talk. Since you stormed off yesterday, I wasn't sure if it was the best idea to go after you."

"Or you were just scared," Tenten teased, a smile pulling at the corners of her lips. "Okay, Hyuga. I don't mind talking to you for the thirty seconds it'll take for you to tell me what I suspected all along, that you are a robot and therefore, do not have feelings."

"You read too much fiction," Neji retorted. "If you would read more nonfiction, you'd realize that we have not progressed that far quite yet."

At seeing her sigh, he went back to the original topic.

"I found a new definition," Neji told her. "For love, I mean."

"Oh?" Tenten said, raising her eyebrows. "I'd _love_ to hear it."

He sat down on a nearby rock and motioned for her to do the same. She grudgingly came and sat next to him.

"I believe it might be possible to think from your heart," Neji admitted. "If I hadn't done it myself, I would still think that the idea was ridiculous, but I've changed my mind. Love, to me, Tenten, is not anything from a book. It's purposely not deflecting a weapon to see the worried reaction, it's watching wisps of brown hair blow about freely in the breeze, it's not being able to say a lot because the fact that we're together is enough. And love is the heightened sensation that comes from the anticipation of our lips touching."

Tenten giggled.

"Hyuga Neji, a romantic," she mused. "Who would've guessed it? Although, that was a lot of long words in that last sentence…"

"I took your definition and tweaked it a little bit," Neji shrugged. "But that's not the only thing I plan to steal from you today."

She looked at him, perplexed. Neji took the opportunity to catch her in a gentle kiss. She tried to protest in the beginning, but after a few moments, her hand was in his hair; his fingers curled around her neck. When they finally broke apart, Tenten's eyes were sparkling.

"I suppose I've been in love with you for a long time, Tenten," Neji chuckled.

If his hand hadn't been so comfortingly warm on her skin, she would've pulled away and put her hands on her hips.

"You _suppose_?" Tenten inquired pointedly.

"Well, rational thinking leads me to believe I haven't suddenly fallen in love with you," Neji explained, trailing off.

She shook her head in mock disappointment.

"I'm never going to get that out of you," she realized.

"At least one person has to think properly for a relationship to work," Neji pointed out. "And let's face it, Tenten. That person is evidently not you."

Tenten glared at him.

"Neji, _darling_, I am perfectly capable of rational thought," she protested. "Much more capable than Mr. I let weapons hit me so that this really pretty girl will be worried about me."

"Oh, really?" Neji smirked. "Ms. I dream about kissing those _perfect_ lips?"

"Perhaps those lips are why I fell in love with you," Tenten grinned. "I'm not seeing any other redeeming qualities here."

Neji couldn't fight his genuine smile any longer.

"I love you, Tenten," he told her seriously. "And joining ANBU won't change any of that."

"Oh, Hyuga, I know," Tenten replied. "I love you too."

Before Neji could kiss her again, they heard strange noises coming from the bushes near them.

"Who's there?" Tenten called. "Come out or I _will_ start throwing weapons at you."

Even Neji was surprised as Gai and Lee sheepishly came out of the bush, their green jumpsuits drenched.

"What happened to you guys?" Tenten asked, looking at them.

"YOUNG LOVE!" Lee sobbed. "It's just so _beautiful_!"

Gai put his arm around his student.

"Lee, this is no time for tears!" he declared. "Even tears of joy! As a punishment, we will do fifty laps on our hands around the training grounds."

"Yes, Gai-sensei!" Lee exclaimed.

Neji and Tenten watched in disbelief as the two ran off, on their hands.

"I changed my mind," Tenten groaned. "Please don't leave the team."

"I apologize in advance for anything you have to go through," Neji chuckled.

"I'm going to decimate you during training today," Tenten threatened. "We still have a week together, remember?"

"The original _Team Gai_ has a week together," Neji corrected her. "If I analyzed our feelings for each other and the likely lengths of our lives, I'm sure _we_ would have much more than that."

Tenten could not deny that this rational thinking was some of Neji's best.


	2. Public Kiss

**A/N: And we've arrived at the second chapter. I remind you that updating will be irregular, heh. Review! :)**

Tenten looked at the clock absentmindedly. In a few minutes, she would have to make some excuse to leave. The girls didn't quite know about her relationship with Neji and she planned on keeping it that way for as long as she could. Kunoichi were not known for minding their own business, _especially_ Tenten's friends, who included the girl who everyone went for gossip: Yamanaka Ino.

"Hey, isn't Neji's first ANBU mission today?" Ino asked suddenly. "Aren't you going to go see him off?"

Sakura glanced over at Tenten.

"Yeah, Shisou did say that," she said. "But it sounds more like _you_ want to see him off, Pig."

Hinata giggled quietly as the blonde turned to her best friend with a glare.

"Well, not alone," Ino protested. "I mean, Neji's _fine,_ but I feel like it'd be kind of awkward, which is why having Tenten there would be nice."

"If Neji's fine, then why would it be awkward?" Tenten queried, confused.

Ino slapped her forehead, sighing.

"Not fine like okay," she explained. "_Fine_. Like, attractive and deliciously beautiful?"

Tenten raised her eyebrows doubtfully.

"I'm not sure if you could classify Neji as attractive or deliciously beautiful," she replied. "But uh, I'm not sure if I'm going to see him off or not. He's kind of a loner, you know?"

"No worries," Sakura broke in. "We'll come along."

Hinata shook her head.

"Sorry," she said softly. "I'm going to train with Kurenai-sensei in a few minutes."

"That's okay, Hinata," Ino grinned. "Forehead and I can come along. Do you think an ANBU mask would make Neji sexier than he already is?"

Tenten wanted to smile but she really couldn't. If Ino and Sakura were with her, then they could find out. It wasn't like Neji cared if people found out. Tenten only cared because she didn't want people to see her as just Hyuga Neji's boyfriend. She was an independent woman, a kunoichi that could pound Neji's head in, any day she wanted. She had made that clear in training the other day. (Or she had attempted to make that clear but taijutsu just involved too much skin on skin contact for her brain to function properly.)

"Whatever," Tenten groaned, rolling her eyes. "Let's go. Bye, Hinata!"

The dark haired girl smiled at them before leaving.

"So, Tenten, after all these years of being on Neji's team, what's your opinion?" Sakura asked conversationally, as they started walking.

"What do you mean?" Tenten answered. "Opinion of what?"

"Opinion of Neji," Ino clarified, impatient. "I mean, you must know him pretty well."

Tenten shrugged, getting more uncomfortable by the second.

"He's talented," she replied. "He's also pretty nice, except when it comes to the Hyugas."

The other two kunoichi stared at her when she didn't continue.

"That's it?" Ino said in disbelief. "That's all you've gotten on Neji?"

"Well, I don't know," Tenten said, flustered. "He has pretty hair."

Sakura started laughing right away and Ino didn't take too long to join in.

"Nice lips too," Ino added, grinning. "Wonder what it's like kissing those."

_Incredible_, Tenten wanted to reply.

"Look, there's his team!" Sakura whispered, pulling them behind a building. "What should we do?"

Ino thought for a moment before responding.

"Tenten, you go in first," she told her. "And then, Sakura and I will just 'happen' to strolling by when we encounter you guys."

"This sounds like a mission," Tenten sighed. "Guys, this is ridiculous."

"Just go," Sakura pouted. "Come on, this is important to Pig. Since none of the boys have had the guts to ask her out yet, she needs some distractions."

Tenten rolled her eyes before continuing on her way. Neji didn't have his mask on yet and his eyes were shaded over with anxiety. Was he waiting for her?

"Neji!" Tenten called. "Hey!"

She had been right; his eyes brightened ever so slightly when he saw her.

"Tenten," he nodded. "What are you doing here?"

She shrugged, running a hand through her hair.

"It's your first ANBU mission," Tenten reminded him. "There's no way I wouldn't be here, Neji."

The Hyuga's lips curved up into something that was almost a smile.

"I'm glad," he told her. "You're not worried, are you?"

Tenten shook her head.

"I know you'll be fine," she laughed. "I mean, what could penetrate that thick skull of yours?"

"A number of things," Neji replied immediately. "Kunai, shuriken, swords, maybe even sticks if–"

"Shut up, _smartass_," Tenten told him, her glare stopping his words cold.

Just then, Sakura and Ino 'casually' walked over, putting on fake surprised smiles when they saw them. It was at the moment that they came over that Tenten realized she hadn't told Neji not to say anything about their relationship.

"Neji-san!" Ino exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"Ino-san, Sakura-san," Neji greeted them. "I'm going on a mission soon. It's ANBU, actually."

"Oh, Shisou did tell me that you were recruited," Sakura said thoughtfully. "Congratulations, Neji!"

He accepted the congratulations graciously, with a slight bow of his head.

"Thank you," Neji smiled.

He pulled out his mask amongst Ino's squeals.

"That is just so cool!" she told him. "I mean, I've seen Dad's mask, but yours is so sleek and gorgeous, Neji-san. Much like your hair, actually. What conditioner do you use?"

Tenten wanted to impale herself on a stick. Well, she would have been able to impale herself on a stick if she had let Neji finish his sentence about how his skull could have been penetrated by a stick. Perhaps she could figure out how to do it _without_ being a genius. Hmm…

"Tenten, is something wrong?" Sakura asked, snapping her out of her trance. "You haven't said a word."

"No, no," Tenten replied hurriedly. "I'm fine."

Neji looked at her, his concern visible only to Tenten.

"I'm fine," she murmured, so quietly that Ino and Sakura couldn't hear her. "Sorry."

A whistle sounded and Neji looked in the direction that the sound had come from.

"That's the two minute warning," he explained. "I'll be leaving soon."

"Be safe, Neji-san," Ino winked. "I can't imagine what the kunoichi of this village would do without you."

It was doubtful whether Neji had even heard the blonde's statement. He was too busy looking at Tenten.

"I'll see you when I get back," Neji told her. "The mission is supposed to take only three days. If it takes longer, I'll find a way to inform you."

_Don't kiss me, don't kiss me, don't kiss me_, Tenten thought frantically.

"Yeah," she replied. "Bye, Neji. Be careful out there."

Before she could turn around, Neji put his hands on her hips and pulled her against him. He wasted no time in gently kissing the madly blushing Tenten. Now that they'd seen the evidence, Tenten thought it safe to kiss him back, so she put her arms around his neck and closed the space between their bodies. She almost cringed when thinking of the girls' reactions but instead chose to weave her tongue around Neji's. Her eyes fluttered shut for a few moments before she finally pulled away.

"Bye," Tenten whispered, disentangling their mouths. "You'll do great, Neji."

"Thank you," Neji smiled. "Goodbye, Tenten."

His two minutes were over so, waving to the two stunned kunoichi, Neji left.

"Tenten," Sakura said shakily.

"What just happened?" Ino finished, still blinking rapidly.

Tenten fiddled with a strand of hair.

"Um, I kissed Neji?" she replied finally. "At least, I think that's what they call it when your lips tou–"

"Sweetheart, more than your _lips_ touched," Ino smirked. "I mean, that was really _something_. Are you sure you got enough oxygen?"

"Maybe we should take her to the hospital," Sakura grinned.

Tenten looked at her friends in exasperation. This was exactly why she hadn't wanted them to know.

"What's the big deal?" she sighed.

"You didn't give us details!" Sakura pouted. "Tenten, come on. That's just not fair."

"Especially when your boyfriend is so _fine_," Ino added. "Spill. What happened?"

Tenten sat down on the nearest rock, shaking her head.

"I mean, it wasn't anything much really," she shrugged. "Gai-sensei told us that Neji had been chosen for ANBU. Then, he and Lee started crying, so I left. Neji followed me, I told him I loved him, he didn't know what to say. The next day, he came and found me and told me he loved me too. We kissed, Gai-sensei and Lee were watching, I later threatened to kill them. Yeah, I think that's about it."

"So why didn't you tell us?" Ino asked impatiently. "I mean, we're friends."

Tenten bit her lip.

"I just didn't want people to think of me as Hyuga Neji's girlfriend," she admitted. "I'm a kunoichi and a person in my own right but Neji is you know, a genius, and I thought he might overshadow me or something."

Sakura nodded knowingly.

"I get it," she agreed. "Still should've told us. How was the kiss?"

Ino's eyes lit up and she turned to Tenten with a wide grin, waiting for the answer. Tenten bit down harder on her lip to stop her smile from getting too big.

"Incredible," she whispered.


	3. Interrupted Kiss

**A/N: Alright, well, we're at the third kiss. I don't expect updating to usually be _this_ irregular, so I do apologize. By the way, if you google the meaning of Tenten's fake name, you might find it interesting when considered with the plot. Please review! :)**

"Neji, Tenten, though it may not seem like it, this is a very important mission," Tsunade told them. "I need you to be at this party, protecting Ruya-san, but you cannot be obvious about it. Therefore, you must go undercover. Shizune has made you fake identities and I have already had your attire for the night sent to Gai. Are you ready to take this on?"

"Of course, Tsunade-sama," Tenten replied. "We won't let you down."

Neji nodded his agreement.

"You are dismissed," Tsunade told them. "Good luck."

Shizune handed them two folders with their temporary identities before they left.

Once they were outside, Neji gently took Tenten's hand.

"We should probably start looking at who we're supposed to be," he suggested.

"Yeah, let's get some ramen or something," Tenten nodded.

"Oh, I don't have my wallet," Neji shrugged. "We can just sit down somewhere."

The brown haired girl rolled her eyes.

"_I_ have money, Neji," she told him. "It's okay."

"I don't have money," Neji replied. "The man pays."

Tenten blinked a few times, unsure of how to deal with his attitude. Neji didn't pick up on her discomfort so he resumed walking. After taking a few paces, he noticed that Tenten wasn't walking with him. The long haired man was not prepared for what was coming when he turned around.

"YOU ARE A SEXIST PIG!" Tenten exclaimed.

Neji stared at her for a long moment. Even if she had said 'sexiest', there was still the matter of the atrocious grammatical structure of the sentence, and, of course, the word 'pig'.

Her hands rolled up into tight fists, Tenten glared at him.

"I'm going to talk to Gai-sensei," she told him.

Neji at least had the common sense not to go with her at this time.

"I'll go talk to him later," he said slowly.

"You're damn right you will," Tenten muttered. "Thinks I can't take care of myself…"

She stomped off in the direction of the training grounds, still angry.

"It would seem that Tenten-san is not happy with you."

Neji nearly groaned. The one person he _didn't_ need to talk to had shown up: Sai.

"I would assume so," Neji agreed. "Anyway, I'll see–"

"Would you like to talk about your altercation?" Sai smiled. "I have often read that talking about your problems is good for you."

Neji sighed. He was about to tell Sai that he had an urgent errand to run but, hell, he didn't really have anyone else to talk to. Lee and Gai would probably break down crying, Hiashi wouldn't know _what_ to say, and Naruto was, well, Naruto.

"Okay," Neji replied. "So, Tenten and I were walking, just hanging out before our mission later tonight. And I said that we should just sit down somewhere, because I didn't have my wallet. She then insisted that she had money and that we didn't need to just sit. When I said that the man should pay, she got all angry and started yelling at me."

"I do not understand," Sai shrugged. "She had money, why didn't you let her pay? You are a couple and I have heard that couples share everything. Why not money?"

Neji opened his mouth and closed it again within a few seconds. Really, there was no reason. Tenten was his equal and there was no reason that she shouldn't pay. Perhaps he could make it to Gai before Tenten left, to apologize. His inner manly pride was hurt, sure, but an angry Tenten was not good for anybody, especially the one who made her angry.

"You were helpful, Sai," Neji said hurriedly. "Goodbye."

Sai smiled as Neji started in the direction of the training grounds.

"Ugly will be surprised," Sai said, to nobody in particular. "I helped somebody."

While Neji at least got someone mildly normal to talk to, Tenten was stuck with Gai.

"And, Tenten, while you're in this flame of youth, the passion can be too much!" Gai explained fervently. "And that is why fights may happen. Still, you must persevere to save your youthful love! Because if you lose it now, you may never have the chance to get it back!"

Tenten groaned loudly.

"Gai-sensei, I just want the details for the mission," she told him for the fifth time. "I don't need advice on how to run my relationship with the sexist pig."

"You are missing the point!" Gai exclaimed. "You must learn to quell the fire with gentle streams of love."

Neji nodded serenely.

"I agree," he said seriously. "Tenten, you really must learn to quell the fire with gentle streams of love."

Tenten nearly screamed; she hadn't noticed him there. Gai merely smiled at his two students.

"You are to meet Ruya-san in an hour at this location," he told them. "Tenten, this is your dress."

Tenten stared on, horrified, as Gai pulled a tiny red dress out of a bag. It was strapless and _sparkly_ and Tenten didn't even want to _think_ about putting it on. All she could think about was the smirk that was surely on Neji's face now, and how ridiculously beautiful that smirk was.

"Neji, you will wear a suit," Gai continued. "I have received one in your size; I hope it's okay. You will be posing as a married couple, Sato Kaiyo and Sato Hideo. Tenten, Kaiyo is a designer who is in the high fashion world. Neji, Hideo is a businessman involved in many companies. Go forth and succeed youthfully, my pupils!"

"Thank you, Gai-sensei," Neji said. "Tenten and I will go prepare ourselves."

Neji casually put an arm around the still horrified Tenten, grabbed the clothes, and started walking toward Tenten's house.

"Excuse me, just what do you think you're doing?" Tenten asked.

Evidently, the shock was gone. Tenten had always known she'd have to wear something like this at some point.

"Get your hand off of me before I tear it off, Hyuga," she told him.

Neji removed his hand slowly, sighing.

"Tenten, I want–" he began.

"I don't want to hear it right now," Tenten interrupted. "I spent fifteen minutes listening to Gai-sensei go on about some crap about the _flames_ of love, and I do _not_ want to listen to you. We can settle this ridiculous sexist issue of yours after our mission. I will see you here in fifty five minutes."

She grabbed the dress from his hands and walked away again, rolling her eyes.

Neji shrugged, going toward his own home. After all, he had to try on the suit. He didn't want to be wearing an ill fitting suit when attempting to apologize to Tenten…

Fifty minutes later, Tenten was waiting at the training field. Hinata had done her makeup and it wasn't overdone, but it assured that Tenten would fit in at the high status party. The red dress was hugging curves that she wasn't quite comfortable with, but she would have to deal with it.

"You look nice."

Tenten's heart nearly skipped a beat as she turned to look at the source of the compliment. Neji's suit was tailored and, oh, he looked like nothing Tenten should ever have been angry with. Still, she couldn't back down just because he looked _heavenly_. She just wouldn't let him know how nice he looked.

"Thank you," Tenten said curtly. "Your suit is nice as well."

Any lesser man would've cringed at the mere amount of venom she had injected into the seeming compliment. Neji was not, however, a lesser man, so he managed to ignore it.

"There's Ruya-san," Tenten pointed out suddenly.

A red haired woman dressed in a purple dress more revealing than Tenten's had just descended from a carriage and was walking toward them.

"Hello, Ruya-san," Tenten greeted her. "I'm Tenten, and this is Neji. We will be your protection for the night."

"Oh, _darling_, you are looking too gorgeous!" Ruya told her. "Perhaps you could do me a favor and not walk in with me. God knows you would outshine me."

"Uh, thank you, Ruya-san," Tenten replied. "We are ready to leave whenever you are."

"Of course, of course," Ruya said airily. "Let's go. There is a Cinderella theme apparently, so I got my own carriage out. It will be an hour's ride and I would love to hear about your undercover personas so I can pretend to know the hottest couple at the party."

Tenten's cheeks turned a faint pink color; Neji didn't say anything.

Once they were settled inside, Ruya turned to them with a wide grin.

"So, all you need to know about me is that I'm Ruya," she shrugged. "I'm not the best dancer so, please, stop me if you see me inching toward the dance floor. I'm very used to these parties and will move about rather quickly, like a butterfly, so keep track. Now, your identities?"

"We are a married couple, of course," Neji replied. "I am Sato Hideo, a successful businessman, and she is my wife, Kaiyo, a high fashion designer. We are new in town and want to get into the party scene, so we've decided to attend the party tonight."

"Wonderful, wonderful!" Ruya beamed. "I trust you will not get distracted by this high class function. It's all a load of nonsense, really. Why else would I be targeted there?"

It was the first time she had mentioned her possible assassination all night and Tenten was surprised by how easy it was for her to talk about it.

"Anyway, it must be really awkward for you guys, huh?" Ruya asked. "Pretending to be a couple."

Tenten laughed uneasily and Neji kept his mouth shut.

"Oh, I see," Ruya grinned. "Interesting, very interesting."

Their arrival saved Neji and Tenten from having to say anything more.

"Stay close, shinobi," Ruya said softly.

And with that, she was out of the carriage and giving air kisses to the first person she saw.

"She's fascinating," Tenten remarked.

"Sure," Neji grunted. "Fascinating."

Keeping an eye on Ruya, they made their way through the people, stopping to chat every now and then.

"Oh, yes, I have seen your label! Kaiyo-san, you are _too_ talented!"

"I'm sure Hideo-san has no problem buying you nice things, Kaiyo-san!"

"Could be the other way around too. Who's more successful?"

"You are simply going to love it here! We throw the _best_ parties!"

"Kaiyo-san, did you design your own dress? It's simply beautiful!"

"Oh, Hideo-san, you have the _loveliest_ hair. Please do share your secret!"

"And how did you two meet?"

Tenten sat on a stool next to the bar, exhausted. She felt like the people here were sucking all the energy out of her.

"Kaiyo, are you okay?" Neji asked, concerned.

"I'm fine, sweetheart," Tenten assured him, through gritted teeth. "How could I not be when I have such a _wonderful_ husband?"

She was sure that if they had been with the people they had been talking with earlier, they would have declared that they were just "too adorable!"

"You have a point," Neji smirked. "How about a dance, darling?"

She started to protest but he shook his head.

"I could always call over a few of our new friends and take a vote," he suggested.

"Idiot," Tenten muttered. "I'll get you back for this."

"Come now, love," Neji chuckled. "I know slow dances are your favorite."

She allowed Neji to slowly pull her onto the dance floor. Once she caught sight of Ruya, Tenten stopped him and put her arms around his neck. His hands came to rest on her hips and they started to sway to the music, carefully watching Ruya at the same time.

"I'm sorry," Neji murmured, pulling Tenten closer. "I shouldn't have had that attitude."

Tenten, who had been playing with Neji's _oh so soft_ hair, was jerked out of her daydream by his apology.

"That's good," she replied absentmindedly. "Promise not to be such an idiot about women paying?"

Neji smiled and leaned forward to capture her lips with his own. Tenten could feel the stares, so she stood on her tiptoes to kiss him more fervently. Her body nearly melted into his and, for a moment, they were one. The kiss was interrupted when both of them felt that there was something wrong.

They broke apart at the same time. Neji immediately activated his Byakugan and Tenten whipped out kunai and shuriken. About thirty feet away from Ruya, Neji found the man they had been looking for. The five kunai were already halfway toward her. He looked at Tenten for a split second and they both nodded.

Tenten shot her kunai and shuriken into the air, sending the other kunai clattering uselessly to the floor. Neji went after the assailant, easily weaving through the crowd to reach him. The man tried to run but the Hyuga jumped right over him and landed in front of him.

With one powerful strike to the chest, the man shot to the floor, landing with a hollow thud. He had been unconscious since the moment Neji had struck him.

"I guess we just take him along for interrogation?" Tenten guessed.

"Probably," Neji shrugged.

"Kaiyo-san, Hideo-san!" Ruya exclaimed. "You saved my life!"

The crowd burst into applause. Tenten and Neji exchanged swift glances and pulled Ruya over to the scene.

"Do you know this man?" Neji asked seriously.

Ruya took one look at him and shrieked.

"Ruya-san, please calm down," Tenten told her. "Who is he?"

"He's my b-boyfriend," Ruya explained. "Ex-boyfriend. We broke up a few months ago. My friends had told me that he was trying to get to me for…"

"Neji, Tenten, well done!" Gai's voice exclaimed over their headsets.

They winced; Gai still hadn't gotten the hang of using the electronics.

"Gai, give me that headset!"

They were given some relief as Tsunade took over the communications.

"Shizune's research points to him being the only assailant. We have extra shinobi outside. You will create a scene if you remain there, so you are done. Nice job."

Neji and Tenten didn't reply but turned to Ruya and smiled.

"It was nice doing a mission for you, Ruya-san," Tenten told her. "I hope we can meet again some time."

"Darling, I hope you wear that dress again!" Ruya exclaimed. "You look stunning! And Hideo-san knows it too."

She winked at Neji in an overly obvious manner.

Neji grimaced.

"I hope you remain safe, Ruya-san," he said. "Goodbye."

The socialites were so busy talking among themselves that Neji and Tenten were able to slip out without making a huge uproar. Once outside, Tenten took a deep breath.

"Too bad that kiss got cut off," she remarked casually.

"Too bad," Neji agreed.

"Well, we should probably start getting back to Konoha," Tenten suggested.

They started walking, hand in hand. They were in no great hurry to return; after all, it wasn't even midnight.

They didn't complete three steps before Tenten pulled on Neji's hand and closed the space between their bodies. It was as if they had never separated; the harmony of the last kiss was unbroken.

"Think of it as a continuation of the last one," Tenten shrugged, grinning.

Neji smiled back, his eyes twinkling.


End file.
